"What we saw that day, depravity that knew no bounds, our home"

Anonymous diary.

 

Alexander watched as his regular day in the academy was totally, completely ruined as magical information blew across the ears of anyone alive inside the damn place.

"An attack by the Duchess of Wulfgrem on two students who allegedly kidnapped some of her friends, Academy Security was waved off as the member of the Sycthes Castra-Cam informed that foul deeds were indeed committed against her and Richard Silverbrand"

The class had a few students in it, most were talking among themselves about the events as Alexander entered the room, sat down with a plop, and gave an enormous sigh of resignation in his professor career.

"Tough day eh Professor?" asked the class rep, his smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Eh, not the first time a scuffle happened in this god's forgotten place, back a few years ago we had that Wolfkin whose boyfriend was teleported to the other side of the Imperium, man hunted down every single person responsible and even got his loved one back" spoke Rose de Castellon, daughter of the last Knight of Castellon and had not Lucrezia and her madness came to the Academy, be a small celebrity among her peers.

"Oh I remember that man, Intense fellow he was, did you know the Imperium impressed by his single-minded devotion to his quest granted him land and minor nobility status? He has a smallholding up in the northern reaches last I checked" Spoke Tomoe, a friend of Rose and the two were often together, Tomoe was a political refugee from the Shogunate, her family traded their ways of magic and Ki to Vermilion so she could live in peace while they fought on.

"Hey Raffa, you went dungeon diving with Lucrezia, right? how good was she in a fight?" Rose asked the brooding woman who sat by herself at the back end of the class.

"Like she had every war blessing under the sun, and not just hear, Richard and Hope are also great fighters" Raffa spoke.

"The merchant son? Really?" the class rep asked in disbelief "He seems the stay-at-home with a book type guy for me..."

"And he would agree with you there Hvtial, but Lucrezia has a certain way to tease out the Warrior that's hidden in us and it worked wonders for him" Raffa smiled as the class rep made an approving face "That's good, while I may not approve of her messing with the peace of the Academy, anyone who helps their fellow Vermilion citizen to master the honorable art of war is a good person indeed"

"You are a big goof you know that Hvtial?" Rose teased the class rep as Alexander pondered about what the rest of the day would entail.

 His answer was fast approaching

---

William finished centering himself with Meditation, Lucrezia was right below his skin watching every move of his, what happened today was something he had hoped. prayed even would never happen.

"It would've been me, I was the one to order the hit, to hire the lich and goons, and to form the alliance with the other two, and now even with we messing that chain of events they still went after Hope, just as the game said they would. William if Gwenarius isn't involved then another god with time predicting powers is, and there are very few of them out there"

Lucrezia took a breath and continued.

"What do we do William?"

"We caught Lyundell and Mava unaware and unprepared, with that escalation they will deepen their pacts with the same forces that corrupted your parents and in 6 months will challenge Hope in the Tournament of Fate for Arthur's hand, Hope is strong but not enough to defeat them, and for that, we will need the Fields, and for that..."  William paused "In the game, you earn the right for the Sacred Sword and the Fields by winning a series of battles against that scum Azarel Bir'Yurar and his harem, culminating in a final battle inside the great castle that stands on the edge of the Fields of Serasval "

"Artorius, Vana, you sure have a way to piss off the big names in the kingdom, and given our previous encounter with him, I am guessing that's not a viable way to reach the fields?" Lucrezia asked, " Curses, so much from the game we can't use now..."

"Nay Lucrezia, all we must do is adapt, adapt and then overcome" William replied as he, Richard, Hope, and Kaine walked into the classroom, Castra was off dealing with the Academy and Royal Knights.

"Lucrezia, we heard of your latest feats" Dhkar spoke in a grave tone "Rest assured should need be the Prince will aid you in battle, the same goes for me"

William gave the orc woman a hug, which caught her by surprise but she had a smile on her face.

"Professor Alexander, May I take command of the room for a short few minutes? Not many will show up today given the...recent events" William stared the man dead in the eye and he just sighed "Do as you will Lady Lucrezia"

"Saa'ryu, contact the Triad, have your sisters deliver them these messages" William passed down scrolls to his maid who nodded and disappeared "Richard, tell the Silverbrand clan I will be needing Highways 5, 7, and 18"

"Gods above! those are all major lanes Lucrezia! Do you know how much gold-" Richard began protesting but William shut him down with a stare "Do it," He said to his friend who shook his head.

"Raffa, Dhkar, I need you two to contact Hector and tell him I am due a visit while I deal with this" William did a sweeping hand gesture "At this hour of the day he will be in the cafeteria"

The girls exchanged looks but both nodded and went off, William turned to Richard who was casting a long-range communication spell "Mom, mom for All-Father's sake reply, we got the mother of all contracts here godsdamned it" he turned to William "She's not picking up...Wait the spell is being redirected! Kaine!" the mage snapped into action, casting a wave of counterintelligence and location spells fast as humanly possible.

"It's coming from your compound Richard, Gods be good that's the main estate" Kaine spoke.

"The Matriarch" William smiled "Go ahead Richard, explain the situation to her" Richard cleared his throat and began talking with the ancient woman "Yes, Silverbrand, Yes that's is correct esteemed Matriarch, yes Lane 18 as well which you know will send a message to the Royals..."

"Can you tap into their comms?" William asked Kaine who gave him a nasty look "Lucrezia that would be extremely rude and unbecoming, but yes I can tap it, not that there will be a need, they are nearly over"

"No cargo given, just the promise of gold, Yes, what? on my ledger? God be good is that even possible? YES! Thank you esteemed Matriarch!" Richard beamed like a kid in Christmas "You got your Lanes Lucrezia, now if you would excuse me I must pinch myself to see if I'm not sleeping"

"Still awake Silverbrand, and under no illusion magick" Hvtial spoke from the corner "Lady Wulfgrem, those Highways are used for troop deployment and Military Materiel supply, while you are entitled an honor guard of 50 Knights, such bold...Actions will be seen in bad light within the court" he finished speaking as all eyes glued on him "What? someone had to say it, even if she's already a black sheep"

"Hvtial sush you! Don't mind him Lady Lucrezia! he's just a stick in the mud" Rose beamed a smile to William who was taken back, usually the rest of the class was more than content to ignore him, but this was the first time someone else outside of his group and contacts had spoken to him even.

"Duly noted Class representative" William smiled at the dragonkin who smirked at him. "Kaine, Hope, on me" the two formed up behind William and he started explaining the next step of his master plan.

"This is a long-range comms Magi-Tech array spell" William pulled another scroll and spread it over the ground, the thing was massive "We haven't been able to make something more durable for it so it was retrofitted into a Spell that has Magi-Tech in it for stabilization purposes instead of using Magi-Tech to do the deed without the aid of more traditional magical methods...but I digress, Kaine deploy the spell, Hope and I will power it with mana so I can contact my people in the north"

Minutes passed as William and Hope poured their combined mana into it, Kaine's weaving and shaping skills flared and multiple sounds of awe were heard from the people in the room.

Images of a room flared in the middle of the array, sat down in chairs were faces William had grown to miss, Erwin, Gabriel, Wilson, Idun and Emilya, Veronica as well, and Serkj.

"Gods be good, the White Dragoness!" Hvatia spoke in awe "The rumors were true then, you have All-Mother's blessing!"

"STAND" Erwin's voice boomed from the illusionary spell, all raised and bowed, Minus Kallista of course "Lady Lucrezia, Hraaxx is unable to attend today, she's undergoing her trial and told me you would understand the meaning of it" And William did, that trial was a personal text my Hraaxx's mother that would turn the merwoman into an even fiercer warrior.

"My Lady, the development on single soldier portable automatic weapons stalled, we need more people to join the church for another sphere shift" Idun spoke fast and clear "But progress was made on the vehicle-mounted prototypes, as for the terraforming locomotive, even with the Arch-Druid's help the situation is dire, to say the least, " Idun finished with a smile

"Thank you Knight Commander, be sure to send a recording of this meeting to Hraax later, Idun while we can't expand faster I can solve the train issue later" William sucked up air and spoke again "As previously explained this is an emergency meeting and I have some big ones for you lot today" William finished off with a grin

He went on to explain what had happened, finishing off with Hope being propped right beside him "Hope here is a dear friend, and Malphas has also set her sights on her, we are in this together"

"I can't dispatch Knights Lady Lucrezia, it will be seen as an attack" Erwin spoke "But..." he glanced at Emilya whose eyes went to him, then William then back to Erwin "I understand...I will see if it is possible" Emilya said.

"Thank you" Erwin turned to William "What is the plan then Lady Lucrezia?"

William cast a floating map of the Academy "Here lies the field that is under the domain of Hector, with it I will raise an army with the school students and train them, as I did with you so long ago, and then we will storm the Fields of Serasval" William flipped his hand and showed the topography of the place " Flanked by the twin mountains that lead into the plateau of champions where we will move the very bleeding edge of Magi-Tech against the marshaled forces that will no doubt oppose us, I am after all a pariah and there are many a noble clan out for my blood and happy to send their knights to stand against me" he pointed to the Hill of Sorrows "Over the hill Lies the Castle of Serasval, as soon as I remove the scion of the sword and his harem we will take over"

"For that, I will need every single ounce of technology we have developed so far, we must strike fast and hard enough that there won't be any time for reinforcements to arrive" William explained.

"Who would dare?" Alexander spoke from the background "Who would march against all of this!, never mind the fact you will no doubt recruit more than enough people who are understandably upset with the fact they can't use the Fields, and some of those will have their parents who are knights be sent to this meatgrinder of a teacher, who?"

"The Royal Knights of Vermilion" Hope spoke slowly, barely a whisper but everyone in the room and in the spell grew silent.

"Idun, you are to start preparations for the transport of both personal and material, including raw goods, Erwin, I want every idle hand in the duchy either working or shipping those goods, Gabriel, the help I talked about earlier will be dispatched within a week's time regarding the terraforming train, Serkj I want you to establish a network of small outposts in the wastes"

Kallista smiled "And me?"

"Prepare your horde, I have a feeling the Queen won't take this lying down. 

"Lucrezia, you are forgetting something" Alexander got up and stared at William "Queen Malphas is a Dragonblood, she has by birthright the allowance of demanding the red dragon himself to aid her in a fight every year"

"As if! my brother is a lazy lizard who would rather play with his little maze than fight, that I am certain of it," Kallista said from the projection.

William saw Alexander tremble before Kallista's voice but the man stared at her projection and spoke with the confidence of a teacher  well versed in his job "Esteemed White Dragoness, while I do not doubt your words in regards to your's brother's personality may I point that in the war against Grannarius Queen Malphas did in fact summon Red Dragon Saark to aid her in the final raid of the capital, the Red Dragon rained death and fire from above just as its told to us"

William's mind snapped into place "You wouldn't have known Kallista, you were in a 5-year long hibernation when he was called for action and he likely didn't want to share, given your history together on the battlefield"

Kallista laughed "To think he would do that, that lizard actually cares for his brood, distilled in humans as it is, doesn't he? Fine then, it won't be the first time I have to club some reason into him anyway"

"Lady Lucrezia, will you contact our allies?" Erwin spoke, his face had a somber look to it.

"Yes, Yes I will" William replied.

"Hear me, my friends, Today marks the day where we will truly shift the fate of our beloved nation, the ripples will be even bigger than when we liberated our home from my kin, to that end I beg of you, stand fast and stand with me, for when we are done we will go down in history!" William gave a small speech and after goodbyes, he closed the spell.

Turning around he saw that Raffa and Dhkar had returned "He wishes to see you in his...Mansion in the fields Lucrezia" Dhkar said with a worried tone "I'll be honest with you, I do not trust the man nor the people he has attracted, It would be unwise going alone"

William nodded "I don't plan to, Kaine, Hope would you be so kind to follow me?" Dhkar then raised her hand "Let me in on this"

"I thought you weren't keen on the place Dhkar?" Raffa asked.

"I am not, but 4 people will fight better than just 3" Dhkar replied back, her face set on the direction of Hector's haunt.

"Make that 5, and we don't know if there will be a fight do we? he seemed friendly enough just now, then again you can't blindly trust those blessed by Saal'Xhir," Raffa said, grabbing her things and setting off to her room "I'll meet you all at the entrance, I need to grab me some gear"

---

Hope was winded but felt ready for combat once again, she stood watching Lucrezia and Kaine talking with Dhkar about the upcoming trek to Hector's mansion.

"...She will likely issue another test, I've given much to Saal'Xhir but she wants more of me" Lucrezia explained "She will tap into my blessing to construct a simulated combat zone for us"

"That would take a great quantity of divine energy...which she has aplenty in these fields" Kaine spoke "I can hear the moaning from the bloody entrance"

"How does the Academy staff let this slide?" Dhkar asked.

"Hector made a huge donation out of his own finances for the privilege, and since it has a marked improvement on the mental health of those who partake the staff is more than happy to look the other way" Lucrezia explained as Kaine nodded and said "Indeed, they are more relaxed, do better in tests and have overall a better performance regarding their duties as students of the academy"

Hope's ears picked off running from the back, she turned only to see Raffa ready for combat, the woman stopped to catch her breath and smiled, Lucrezia explained to her what she thought would happen and she nodded in approval.

"Everyone ready? on the count of 3" Lucrezia said "1, 2, 3!" and they crossed the threshold.

Hope went forward arms at the ready only to find a peaceful meadow in front of her, everyone else was equally confused and they turned to Lucrezia who looked like she had been struck by mind magic.

"This ain't right, there was meant to be a test!" Lucrezia spoke, anger leaking from her voice.

"There's no test Lucrezia, your paranoia is unwarranted as I said before, you struck a major blow against Saal'Xhir's biggest enemy and personally made sure she has a foothold in the north, as far as any god is concerned you are the best thing that happened to the woman" Kaine sighed "Lower your weapons, the mansion is a short walk from here"

Lucrezia sighed "Ugh I hate being wrong"

"Bound to happen at least once dear" Raffa laughed "Right Dhkar?"

"Even the strongest of war chiefs bleed, the wisest of sages err" the Orc woman spoke in a solemn tone "Don't beat yourself over it, you are still human after all"

Hope was going to say something but her long-range detection spells flared up "I have 3, no 5 unknowns beelining for us, they will be here in a minute!" but then they disappeared! she screamed and Kaine spoke "Teleportation, they have a mage with them gimme a second" he began weaving trice the number of detection spells Hope knew and eventually found them "Clearing to the northwest, far away from us now"

He closed his eyes "Metamagick tell me they have no hostile intent, remind me to teach that spell to you tomorrow Hope"

"Roger" Hope fired back, they kept walking for 10 or so minutes before coming up to a beautifully built mansion, the gardens were spotless and there were multiple statues around, their making told a great artist was employed by Hector.

Hope saw Lucrezia kneel down before a patch of dirt and dust her hands with it, she spoke low, so low Hope couldn't pick up the words, that was when Dhkar placed her hand on Hope's arm.

"Ancient orcish custom, she asked the gods of war and magic to bless her on the upcoming battle, and if they are indifferent to her pleas, may she rise above them one-day" Dhkar hummed "Wonder how she knows that not even the old hags of my clan do that anymore"

Hope nodded, only to feel her Saal'Xhir blessing burn with energy! something was happening inside the mansion!

---

"I thank you for this vessel my dearest Hector, Ah it has been a while since I walked in the flesh of my flock...Hmm, it appears they are near, and the one blessed by the All-Father too! my Lucrezia aren't you the gift that keeps on giving!"

Saal'Xhir laughed as she commandeered Hector's body, she gave the order for one of his people to open the main door for her guests, her smile widening as she watched the Gwenarius boy lead the group.

So much had happened in barely a year! and all thanks to that little bottled-up girl who stared daggers at her, ah Saal'Xhir sighed in resignation, she still didn't partake in her gifts, to think someone so ripe held herself back for no apparent reason.

A shame.